When an unconventional social media strategy doesn't quite work out

It’s been a strange couple of weeks for the presidential campaign of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. His campaign has made surreal usage of memes and posts from online influencers; it’s also been offering impressive food spreads at events. But politics isn’t just good catering and evocations of Weird Twitter — the debates also play a big role in helping candidates win. Bloomberg’s campaign has hit something of a snag there, and now they’ve encountered another bump in the road pertaining to their online strategy.

The Guardian reports that Twitter has suspended approximately 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts. A spokesperson for Twitter noted that these suspensions varied in their severity, and included “permanent suspensions and account challenges to verify ownership.” The reason cited by the social network for its actions?

Twitter said the accounts violated its platform manipulation and spam policy, which prohibits coordination among accounts to amplify or disrupt conversation.

As The Hill noted in its article on the suspension, part of the Bloomberg campaign’s strategy “involves hiring temporary employees to launch an array of Twitter accounts that post identical messages.” It turns out Twitter does not look terribly kindly on this practice.

According to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the Bloomberg campaign contended that their social media efforts were “not intended to mislead anyone.” Whether or not Bloomberg’s efforts to win the nomination succeed, his campaign has changed the face of political advertising.